WHO ARE YOU, AND ARE YOU HAPPY WITH WHO YOU ARE?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me
was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them;
yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
(1 Corinthians 15:10)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever thought about why you were created? Some of us
aspire to be someone different than the person we were created
to be and it causes frustration for us. Why? Because God made
every person unique with a special purpose. He also gave each
person the gifts and talents He selected specifically for them.

How does that make you feel? Doesn’t it make you feel unique
and special? The question we should ask ourselves is,
    “What will I do with what He has given me?”
Will I squander them in my efforts to fulfill my own desires? Will
I decide that I can be someone other than who He made me to be?

Let’s face this truth:
    We came into the world with nothing, and we will leave it with
    nothing. We shouldn’t assume that man’s idea of success and
    God’s are the same. We may have been able to achieve some
    amazing accomplishments, but without our gifts of intelligence,
    imagination, personality, and physical energy (which are all
    endowed to us by God) where would we be? The truth is,
    without God’s infinite mercy and love, we would all be poor
    in spirit and in our achievements. God is good and He created
    us to be good, as well. His purpose for us might be different
    than the one we would choose for ourselves, but God knows
    our capabilities because He created us.
        For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ
        Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
        advance for us to do.
        (Ephesians 2:10)

        Make a tree good and its fruit will be good,
        or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad,
        for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
        (Matthew 12:33)

        A good man brings good things out of the good stored
        up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out
        of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks
        what the heart is full of.
        (Luke 6:45)

        And we know that in all things God works for the good
        of those who love him, who have been called according
        to his purpose.
        (Romans 8:28)

We came out of nothing, and if we are anything, it’s because God is
everything. If He withheld His power from us for one brief instant,
if He withheld our breath of life for one moment, our physical being
would shrivel into nothingness, and our souls would be whisked away
into an endless eternity.
    What good is it for someone to gain the
    whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
    (Mark 8:36)

Paul recognized that all he had was from the Lord and he worked hard
to utilize every gift and talent he had been given. He also realized that
whatever success he had was strictly a result of the grace of God. Paul
knew that when the Lord was vibrant and alive in his life, he was going
in the right direction and would find joy in observing how the Lord was
using him.
    If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive
    themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can
    take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to
    someone else, for each one should carry their own load.
    (Galatians 6:3-5)

ACTION:
Questions to consider:
    – What about me?
    – Is the Lord vibrant and alive in my own life?
    – Do I give Him the credit and thank Him for all my achievements?
    – Have I gratefully accepted the gifts and talents He has given me,
       and am I diligently using what I have been given?
    – Am I frustrating myself by trying to chart my own path
       and ignoring the one the Lord has chosen for me? 

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things
done while in the body, whether good or bad.
(2 Corinthians 5:10)

And as for you, brothers and sisters,
never tire of doing what is good.
(2 Thessalonians 3:13)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God
may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought
to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
(James 4:17)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, all I have and all I am have been given to me by
Your almighty hands. Forgive me for the times I tend to boast about
my accomplishments. Forgive me for failing to follow the path You
have chosen for me, and for not properly using the gifts and talents
You have given me. Help me to understand who You want of me, and
when I do, help me to diligently pursue it. Teach me to set aside my
own arrogant pride and ego, so I can humbly find joy in watching
You work through me. I know that when You are in control, I will
find joy in growing closer to You, and I will have confidence that
I am following Your will for my life.”

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